Lab-freed ‘villains’ eyed as Deval’s downfall

Sunday, September 30, 2012 -- Anonymous (not verified)

Horton effect could sink gov’s future

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Local Politics

Sunday, September 30, 2012

Author(s):

John Zaremba

Every accused drug dealer sprung from jail thanks to the state crime-lab fiasco could be another Willie Horton waiting to snuff out Gov. Deval Patrick’s aspirations for higher office, political watchers say.

“If Deval Patrick were to run for president, this would be a huge issue,” former state treasurer Joe Malone, a Republican, said. “This is a case where every American would understand that this kind of malpractice on his administration’s part puts criminals back on the street. Willie Horton certainly comes to mind.”

Horton is the convicted murderer whose violent crime spree while on weekend furlough from prison under Michael Dukakis’ watch was the subject of an infamous attack ad that helped sink the former governor’s 1988 presidential bid.

And now Patrick, who has said he will not run for re-election and is seen as a rising Democratic star on the national stage, must watch as offenders in potentially thousands of cases try to use evidence tainted by alleged rogue chemist Annie Dookhan, who was arrested Friday, as their ticket to freedom.

The Herald reported yesterday that Patrick’s critics, citing a systemic failure in the chain of command, are already saying accountability for the scandal falls squarely at the governor’s feet. The management lapses, according to officials, included:

• Lab supervisors’ failure to tell authorities when an evidence officer, in June 2011, noticed 90 drug samples were recorded as tested without ever being signed out of the evidence room.

• Dookhan continued testing samples and testifying in court even after lab management learned of her unusually high productivity.

• DPH’s failure to tell law enforcement — or even its own supervising office — about its internal investigation immediately. The probe began Dec. 1, 2011, but the Executive Office of Health and Human Services didn’t learn about it until Jan. 11. That office then informed the governor’s office, which in turn told state and federal prosecutors.

Heads have already rolled and suspensions have been meted out. And as more suspects walk, the risk is greater that some will commit heinous crimes that could dog Patrick for years to come.

“If they form a league of super-villains, then Deval Patrick is in trouble,” said Jason Stanford, a Democratic consultant.

However, Susan Estrich, who ran the ill-fated ’88 Dukakis presidential campaign, said the Willie Horton effect would come into play only if Patrick fails to fix the problem his administration created.

“The key question, always, is how he handles it,” she said. “There’s not a governor in America who hasn’t had a convicted murderer commit a crime or a state agency operate wrongly. ... Voters will forgive you for almost anything if you take responsibility, move aggressively and try to resolve the problem.”